Toms River Schools Urge Patience As Remote Learning Starts Week 2

Toms River NJ

14 September, 2020

5:31 AM

Description

TOMS RIVER, NJ — As the first full week of school gets underway for Toms River Regional students, district officials say they are working on plans to try to move the district's kindergartners to hybrid instruction as soon as possible. The first week of remote instruction prompted multiple complaints from parents, especially from those whose children are kindergarteners. The district has started the school year with fully remote instruction due to a shortage of substitute teachers. "To expect (kindergarteners) to sit in front of a computer screen from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. five days a week, it's just not working," Jessalyn Cleaver said during the Toms River Regional Board of Education committee meetings last week. Cleaver said her kindergarten son needs a lot of hands-on help in terms of understanding how to mute, how to turn on his camera, and that makes it nearly impossible to help her fourth-grade daughter, who is facing different technological challenges. Other parents who called in to the committee meetings expressed similar concerns about having the youngest students spending nearly six hours a day learning through a computer screen. The district's remote instruction is six-hour school days, with breaks for lunch and, for the younger students, what would equate to recess if they were in school. "We don't deny any of the challenges families are having," Superintendent David Healy said during the committee meetings. "We understand your frustration." The concerns raised over how kindergarteners were faring with remote learning has the district looking to transition them back to a hybrid model as soon as possible, Healy said. The district's reopening plan has it on remote learning until Nov. 9, but Healy has said the goal is to return to hybrid instruction sooner rather than later. Other parents who called into the committee meetings — which followed the second day of school — expressed frustration that teachers had not been able to cover all the subjects during those first days, because they were spending so much time telling children to behave. In a letter to parents on Friday, Healy urged patience. "As we conclude our first week, it is evident that the process to launch the new school year has at times been arduous, painstaking and even frustrating," he wrote. "As we continue to navigate through the weeks ahead and ultimately return to some level of normalcy, I humbly ask all members of our school community to maintain their patience and a level of kindness, appreciation, and respect for our teachers, administration, board of education, children, and each other." "These are challenging and — yes — stressful times, but should not compromise our sense of decency, compassion, and respect for one another," Healy wrote. "This is only Week One, and considering the unique and difficult circumstances, our students and staff have surpassed our expectations, as they often do." He said the district is "doing everything we can to make this as smooth a journey as possible as we continue working toward our ultimate goal of returning all students for in-person instruction." Click here to get Patch email notifications, or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Have a news tip? Email [email protected] Follow Toms River Patch on Facebook.